Backlinks are one of the pillars of natural referencing: they strengthen the authority of your site and improve your visibility on Google. But you still have to know who quotes you, with what type of link and what impact it has on your SEO.
Without suitable tools, it is impossible to detect opportunities, monitor your competitors or identify toxic links that could harm your positioning.
In this article, we present the best tools, free and paid to you, to find, analyze and effectively follow your backlinks.
Majestic: a SEO tool focused on backlinks
Majestic is one of the few SEO tools to be fully focused on Backlinks analysis. Unlike other general platforms, it is distinguished by its immense links of links and by unique indicators such as the Trust Flow (quality of incoming links) and Flow quote (volume of links). These metrics make it possible to quickly assess the relevance of a backlink and to identify the sites with high added value for your strategy.
With Majestic, you can:
- ExploreBacklinks history To see how your profile evolves over time.
- Analyze the context of the links (surrounding text, theme of the source site).
- Compare several areas and detect missing links for your competitors.
The tool offers a free analysis for a site, but for Monitor your backlinks on a daily basisopt for one of its paid offers from € 46.99 per month. The price is reasonable for an SEO tool that allows you to optimize your backlinks.
Ahrefs: full seo tool including backlinks
Ahrefs is above all a Complete SEO toolwhich covers both keyword analysis and technical audit or positioning monitoring. Her Backlinks module is very good and allows you to easily identify your backlinks. Its backlinks index is substantial, it allows:
- Follow in real time New backlinks acquired and those who are lost.
- Analyze the Quality of referent domainsthe anchors used and their relevance.
- Identify them Best links of links By comparing your profile to that of your competitors.
- Quickly detect toxic backlinks that can harm your SEO.
Ahrefs is aimed at agencies or SEO Freelances that to independent companies or entrepreneurs who want to keep control of their netlinking. On the other hand, the price of ahrefs is higher. From $ 129 per month.
THE Netlinking campaign price is substantial. Following the evolution of your backlinks is essential if you put means in the acquisition of external entrants.
Link Explorer: the “free” tool from Moz backlinks
Moz, known for its indicators of Domain Authority (DA) and Authority page (PA), offer with Link Explorer A reliable tool to analyze and follow your backlinks. Its main advantage is to provide a clear and synthetic vision of the quality of your links profile.
Link Explorer offers a free version which allows you to analyze 10 requests for free per month (by connecting to the tool).
On the price side, Moz offers a starter version from $ 49 per month, but the note can increase if you want to follow several sites.
SEMRUSH: Another Multi-Casquette SEO tool
Semrush is one of the most complete SEO tools on the market, with features ranging from keyword research to position tracking. It is notably used by web agencies, SEO agencies or live companies, despite its slightly high rate (from $ 139.95 per month).
On the backlinks side, they allow you like the other tools of:
- Follow the evolution of your links profile (new, lost, anchor, referent domains).
- Compare your backlinks with those of your competitors and identify missing opportunities.
- Evaluate the quality and Toxicity of links thanks to its scoring system.
We especially appreciate his tool ofIdentification of toxic backlinkswhich makes it possible to identify potentially harmful links. Even if, in practice, declaring these toxic links to Google is not always essential (Google often ignores poor quality backlinks on its own), this feature helps keep an overview and secure your netlinking strategy.
Read also: Alternatives to Semrush: SEO tools to know
Analyze your backlinks with the Google Search Console
There Google Search Console (GSC) is the free tool provided directly by Google. It allows know your backlinks Thanks to a list of sites that make links to yours. Just go to the “Links” menu then “external links”.
This gives you a clear vision of the popularity of your site in the eyes of the search engine. This is a useful first step to understand who talks about you and measure the extent of your netlinking.
On the other hand, unlike specialized tools such as Ahrefs, Semrush or Majestic, the GSC does not provide detailed information on the quality of backlinks: no metrics of authority, no analysis of anchors or relevance scoring. So she stays Limited to refine a netlinking strategy.
For basic and free monitoring, the Google Search Console is a must, and often constitutes the starting point before investing in a more complete tool.
Read also: The best SEO tools to analyze and optimize referencing
Other tools available to analyze your backlinks
We have just reviewed precisely the best SEO analysis tools in Backlinks. But to know the incoming external links of your site, other less popular tools exist.
If the tools presented do not meet your expectations or your budget, these are other possible options:
Seobserver : A French tool excellent in the analysis of backlinks and keywords. For € 99 per month, you can follow the backlinks of 100 sites.
Linkody : an automated and simple to use tool, which identifies backlinks and signals those that can be harmful.
OPEN LINK PROFILER : A free tool that displays up to 200,000 backlinks per field, with a score of links (LIS).
Rank signals : Freemium solution which allows you to discover backlinks and nofollow links, practical for basic monitoring.
Ubersuggest (Neil Patel): Includes a backlinks analysis function in its SEO suite, accessible for free in a limited version.
Cognitiveseo : offers an in -depth analysis of backlinks and anchors, with an emphasis on the detection of suspicious links profiles.
SEPTIME BACKLINK CHECKER : Allows you to receive alerts as soon as you win or lose a link. Useful to continuously monitor your netlinking actions.
Buzzsumo : more thought of the search for viral content, but also offers an analysis of the incoming links in its pro version.
With these free and paid tools, you can improve your Link Building and avoid SEO errors that could cost you dearly.
What should we expect from a backlinks analysis tool?
Good backlinks analysis or monitoring software must give you a precise and usable vision of your links profile. Here are the essential elements to monitor:
List of pages and URL that make a link
Indispensable to know who talks about you and on what pages.
Well done by Google Search Console (free), Ahrefs, Majestic, Semrush, Moz.
Anchoring texts
The links of links give Google context on targeted content.
Very well analyzed by Ahrefs, Semrush, Majestic.
Relevance of links of links
Evaluate whether the anchors are natural or optimized to excess.
Managed by Majestic (Trust Flow Thematic), Ahrefs, Moz.
Check if there is a return link (follow / nofollow)
Useful to know if the backlink really transmits SEO authority.
Well done by Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, Linkody.
Monitoring and results of netlinking campaigns
Allows you to measure the impact of your actions and identify the backlinks won or lost.
Complete follow -up with Ahrefs, Semrush, Monitor Backlinks, Majestic.
Backlinks are really a major pillar of natural referencing. Knowing your incoming links and trying to acquire again helps improve the notoriety of your site.
If you need help to identify your backlinks, call on a SEO Freelance consultant on Coder.com! You will find on our platform for SEO experts who will help you build an efficient backlinks acquisition strategy.